Hey Guys,

I've got a new Pioneer BDP-51FD player which is supposed to upconvert up to 1080p (PureCinema chip ? ) standard DVDs.

So, stupid question, how do I know it's "doing it" ? by watching DVD on my 1080i 32" Sony tv, honestly, I can't tell the difference between the Pioneer player and my old Cambridge Audio Azur DVD player.

I've looked at every option / config menu in the Pio but can't find anything that says " enable upconversion " etc..

Also, does the player's circuitry "compete" with the TV's own "upconversion", not that I sure my 7 year old Sony does that..but it does have 3:2 pulldown etc..etc..

I was just expecting a " wow " my DVDs look "so much better now" ..and I'm not seeing it.. so either the player is not that good at doing it.. or it's an over hyped "feature" that does not equate to much at the end of the day.

Thanks

A brief search shows positive user comments on the upconversion, and a couple urge people to update to the latest firmware. Have you tried that?

Hi CV, Yes I have upgraded the firmware when I got the unit last week. As of today,I'm running the lastest firmeware.

Perhaps a dumb comment on my part by I assume that you have connected the player to the TV with an HDMI cable since it ONLY does upconverting over HDMI and the player configured accordingly. It also should be noted up until the Panasonic came out(BD-35/55) the consensus of opinion among the reviewers was that the Blu-Ray players that they had reviewed to that point(including the latest Pioneer models) didn,t do a particularly good job of upconverting standard DVD's. Perhaps, if you can, try to get a hold of both the Blu-Ray AND standard DVD versions so you can compare them on the SAME player(Your Pioneer). This will give you a better idea as to how your player is performing in comparison. Unfortunately, the reviewers haven't been particularly kind to the new Pioneer models when it comes to assessing their overall performance and value. My last three DVD players have been Pioneer Elite models but when I went to my retailer to compare the Panny BD-55 with the Elite 05FD, once I got past the "looks", I was quite shocked to see that the "Panny" outperformed the Pioneer in every way for a little more than half the price.

If the player is outputting in the TV's native resolution, there won't be any competing going on. However, if it's not a native resolution, the TV will have to do its own scaling as well.

Sorry, forgot to tell you how it's connected..Via Component, NOT HDMI, since my current TV cannot do HDMI. I did not know that upconversion only took place on HDMI ? since OPPO has been doing upconversion to 1080P for so long on their regular DVD players, I assumed that you got some upconversion benefits even with component connectivity..if that is not the case, then obviously there is NO upconversion of anykind happening now.. which is probably why I can't seen any difference between my old player vs my new player on the same DVD movie.

As for the Pioneer model I have.. yes, I did look at the Panasonic and it was very high on my list.. but that super slim design just annoys me to no end, and the Pioneer reviews I read were very favourable to it so I had no qualms about getting it. From what I was reading, they were on par in terms of quality / performance..or at least very very close. The Pio just came down in price by $100 which I did get re-imbursed, so I am not feeling bad about getting it vs the panny, which is a very good player as well.. just whished they made it beefier ..

It sounds like that new TV purchase is going to happen, huh?

Ya, If FS ever gets some stock !.. I've been chasing that Samsung LN52A750 since Monday and it's sold out everywhere and no more in the warehouse either..so now I have to yet for Samsung to ship more to FS.. but I was assured I'm getting the " boxing week" price not matter when they come in..

Can't wait..

I'll give me time to shop for a tv stand that can accomodate my huge center channel.. (22X10X20)

Future Shop is living up to its name, I suppose.

Now that's funny!!

I know that you are asking about your current tv but when you DO get your new Samsung it should have an Info button on the remote like my series 6.

While watching a movie just press that and it it will display the info on screen.

I have a new Pioneer DV-400V player and a Sharp AQUOS LC-52D64U 1080p television. I run HDMI at 480i from the standard DVD player to the TV and let the Sharp do the upconversion. I have the movie "American President" and it has always had the worst video artifacts I have seen on any movie using several different players. I guess the Sharp TV has great upconversion circuitry because now almost all the artifacts are removed. If you have a 1080p TV with HDMI inputs a player that passes HDMI at 480i native resolution might be just the ticket for you too. My library of over 700 DVDs has never been more enjoyable.